Archbishop
Alexei: Eulogy of Archbishop Alexei at the Memorial Service
for Metropolitan Anthony,
Reposed-in-the-Lord

Delivered
at Kremenetz Epiphany Monastery, 3/16 August 1936 (translation
from Ukrainian)
A few days ago, in Sremskij Karlovtsi, Yugoslavia, a great
lantern of faith and piety reposed in the Lord--the Eminent
Metropolitan Anthony. It is not necessary to explain who he
was, for the whole world knew him, and Orthodox people, wherever
they may be, have for a half a century enjoyed the works and
good deeds of this Father of the Church, who was imbued with
the spirit of the prophets and the apostles.Now this star,
great in its illumination, has departed from our ecclesiastical
sky, and an unusual emptiness is left on this earth. Metropolitan
Anthony occupied an honored place in the history of our Church
in our day and it will be the work of future historians to
illuminate from all sides his great meaning for the Orthodox
Church. But even now we can say that this was one of the greatest
bishops of the Orthodox Church to have been seen in the world
over many centuries. With his whole being, the spirit of his
writings, the character of his deeds, Metropolitan Anthony
fully reminds us of the Holy Fathers of the IV century, although
the characteristics of great bishops of other centuries were
not foreign to him, either. In his was the zeal of spirit
of St. Athanasius the Great, the fervor of St. Nicholas, the
courage and power of St. Basil the Great, full of submission
to God, indifference to material matters and the creative
loftiness of St. Gregory the Theologian, the inexhaustible
fruitfulness and inspiration of St. John Chrysostom, the generosity
and unselfishness of St. John the Merciful, the clarity of
understanding of the Holy Canonists Patriarch Photius and
Patriarch Nikon, who was so loved by Metropolitan Anthony,
the greatness of the Ecumenical Patriarch Joachim, the love
for his fatherland and civil wisdom of Holy Metropolitan Alexei
of Kiev. This was a great man who created an epoch, and so
it is not surprising that he was also a source of disagreement,
since some praised him to the heavens, and others did not
even hesitate to use profanity in speaking of him. It is true
that the dissatisfaction with Metropolitan Anthony stemmed
from secondary matters of salvation, purely political and
national, but this was enough to bring a great deal of grief
to the reposed, since these questions spurred the passions
of most people.
History proved to vindicate the political views of Met. Anthony
and if, during his lifetime, those who were in positions of
responsibility recognized the importance of the propetic warnings
of the reposed, then neither he nor millions of his compatriots
would have scattered to distant lands. As far as his national
views are concerned, in the latter years of his life, Met.
Anthony changed them in many ways, in accordance with the
demands of the time and with the wisdom of some trends in
national questions in daily life. If anything negative could
still be found in the opinions of the late bishop, and in
the means of his actions, he paid for them many times over
in the sorrows of exile and for this reason, Met. Anthony
now stands before us as a great teacher of faith and piety,
a great theologian and an exceptionally kind person.

Met. Anthony was prepared at any moment to give his life for
his faith in Christ, and he would have done so together with
the other bishop martyrs, if not for the will of God, who
summoned him, through good people, from the hell of faithlessness
and godlessness. There are so many witnesses to his piety
that one does not know where to begin. It is enough to say
that he was the Abba (or teacher) of all the monks who, in
theory, must be the keepers and examples of piety.

Orthodox theologians and pastors were educated by the works
of Met. Anthony for a half a century, many of whom themselves
went on to excel in theological writings and even more so
in their work in the harvest fields of the Church. The method
of the moral perception of the dogmas of the Holy Church developed
by the late Metropolitan made accessible his works not only
for theologians, which is why the scholarly influence of Metropolitan
Anthony spread far beyond church schools and establishments.
It is no wonder that he was the leading candidate for the
patriarchal throne.

Thanks to his theological works, the late metropolitan was
particularly authoritative abroad. It is there that he was
first included among the pleiades of fathers and teachers
of the Holy Church, and we were witnesses ourselves to the
authority he wielded as an Orthodox theologian in the Orthodox
East.

But maybe the greatest source of his popularity among the
widest circles was his exceptional kindness and love towards
people. His whole magnificent spiritual image glowed with
kindness, he was like a wellspring of goodness. Who could
refuse to take advantage of his love? Only those who did not
wish to. It is enough to say that he could have become very
wealthy, since he occupied high offices, and could have had
great revenues from his writings, but he gave everything away,
even borrowing from his cell-attendants for charitable purposes,
and he died in poverty, living out his last days subsisting
on the bread of the kindness of the Serbian Patriarch.

And so, if we wished to imagine the character traits of the
ancient fathers and teachers of the Church, then Metropolitan
Anthony, reposed in the Lord, truly gives us this most perfect
image. It is not remarkable that his blessed repose shook
the entire Orthodox world and evoked such deep sorrow. Indeed,
after him, the world has become somewhat emptier, where once
this great beacon brightly showed the religious-moral path
to humanity.
Our Orthodox Volynia has reason to fervently respond to the
general grieving over the repose of Metropolitan Anthony and
join it whole-heartedly, since the late metropolitan nourished
it for many years as the Archbishop of Volynia. It was here
that he seemed to acquire the greatest glory, for his name
was most often connected with Volynia. He was for a long time
called Anthony of Volynia. But it is not in word
but in deed that his service to Volynia earned fame for the
eminent archpastor, and which departed with him into eternity.
We speak here only of his archpastoral activity, expressed
in his spiritual guidance of his flock, his frequent travels
througout the diocese, his work on the renovation of our sacred
historical sites, his love for our pastors and flock.

Visiting our parishes in Volynia now, we often see old antimensia
on the holy altars. When it is noted that they should be replaced
with newer ones, the reverend rectors show the signature of
Metropolitan Anthony on them, and they say that it is difficult
to part with such a holy thing, which bears the holy signature
of the great archpastor. We understand this and now can explain
the love of the archpastors of Volynia by saying that it was
he who revealed our Volynian Orthodox traditions of the time
of St. Vladimir, which he openly spoke of in his writings.
We are certain that not a parish in Volynia will be found
that would not fervently pray for the late metropolitan, when
they learn that he is no longer on this earth. May we begin
this prayer, my friends, who have gathered in the archpastoral
house of our cathedral city to perform the first memorial
service in Volynia for the soul of the blessed bishop of the
Holy Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Anthony. Today is his namesday.
And if before we prayed for his health on this day, let our
heartfelt prayers now be lifted for the repose of his soul
in the abode of the righteous. Amen.